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Resilience is not loud. It’s not dramatic.
it’s quiet faithfulness over time.

Dear Friends…

One year ago, fire had taken what we thought was secure. Walls we trusted. Spaces that held our memories. A building we loved. In a matter of hours, what had taken years to build was reduced to ashes.

But today, we stand not in ashes—but in testimony. Because while the fire destroyed a building, it did not destroy the church. The fire revealed something we might not have fully understood before: We are not a building.  The church is not a building. Scripture tells us, “You are God’s temple.” Not the structure. Not the address. Not the sanctuary. You.

And over this past year, we have seen that truth lived out in ways we never expected.

We worshiped outside under the open sky.
We gathered in heat and discomfort.
We sat in metal chairs instead of padded pews.
We sang from paper instead of screens or songbooks.
We met without water, without bathrooms, without convenience.

And yet… God met us every single time. Not once did the Spirit fail to show up because the conditions weren’t ideal.

If anything, we discovered something deeper: The presence of God is not dependent on comfort. The strength of the church is not dependent on resources. The life of the body is not dependent on a building.

The early church in Acts didn’t have buildings. They met in homes, in courtyards, wherever they could—and Scripture says they were filled with joy, unity, and power.

This past year, we’ve lived closer to that reality than we ever have. And let’s be honest—it wasn’t easy. We endured heat, inconvenience, and uncertainty. We stayed when it would have been easier to drift away.

That matters. Because resilience is not loud. It’s not dramatic. It’s quiet faithfulness over time.

It’s showing up when it’s hard. It’s continuing to worship when circumstances aren’t ideal. And that is exactly what we have done.

Isaiah 43 says, “When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned.”

Notice it doesn’t say if you walk through the fire. It says when. Fire is part of the journey—but it does not get the final word. Because while fire can destroy what is built by human hands, it cannot consume what is sustained by the Spirit of God.

So what has this year shown us?

It has shown us that our foundation is stronger than we thought. It has shown us that our faith is more resilient than we knew. It has shown us that our identity is not tied to a place—but to a Person.

And His name is Jesus.

Today is not just a remembrance of what we lost. It is a celebration of what could not be taken: our unity; our faith; our calling; our mission. In fact, I would suggest this: We are not the same church we were one year ago.

We are stronger.
We are deeper.
We are more aware of what truly matters.

And perhaps most importantly—we are more dependent on God than we have ever been.

So as we look ahead, we do so with both gratitude and purpose. We remember what was. We remember the baptisms, the prayers, the laughter, the quiet moments at the communion table. We honor the sacred memories that were formed within those walls—not because the building was holy, but because God met us there. And those memories matter.

But we also recognize this: we are not called to live in what was. We are called to step into what will be. There is rebuilding ahead of us. There is work to be done. There are plans to be made, sacrifices to be given, and dreams to be reimagined. And yes—we will build again. Not just to replace what was lost, but to prepare for what God is going to do next. Because this next chapter is not about recreating the past. It’s about building with a deeper understanding of who we are. We now know—without question—that the building is not the source of our strength. We are. Through Christ in us.

As we lay foundations again—whether literal or spiritual—we do so differently…with greater gratitude, with deeper faith, with clearer vision. We build remembering the past but not bound by it. We build honoring what was, while making room for what will be. And most importantly—we build knowing that no matter what stands or falls, burns or is restored…the church will remain. Because the church is not made of wood or stone. It is made of people filled with the Spirit of God.

And that…can never be taken away.

~ Bro. Jerry Fenter